At Stratford Circus on Wednesday 21 February 2018, we are delighted to welcome keynote speaker and researcher to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW), Dr Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt from Kings College London. In her keynote, Dr Gordon-Nesbitt will outline the context of the Inquiry conducted by the APPGAHW (2015–17) and how the ensuing report, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, took shape against a backdrop of the social determinants of health, with findings arranged across the life course. She will detail the distribution of arts participation across the social gradient, making the case that access to the arts (and health) is a matter of social justice; provide evidence of the benefits of music to children in intensive care and to mothers with postnatal depression and their children, and explore the potential impact of this important policy document for the early years music sector.

The day will also be packed full of presentations by early years music practitioners, health professionals and funders, practical workshops and one-to-one sessions which will explore the current work organisations are doing in this area, the role of impact measurement and cross-sector cultural thinking. Save the date and watch this space for programme and speaker announcements.